Wisconsin is in the hole $3,600,000,000.00. They can't print money and going into debt to pay it off makes even less sense. So Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, proposed drastic cuts to get the budget in line and put Wisconsin's financial house in order. And just like in New Jersey when similar cuts were announced, the teacher's union flipped out.
For the past two days teachers and union members have been angrily protesting the proposal and even students from the University of Wisconsin have been camping out at the capitol to voice their concerns. The news media today has been demonizing Governor Walker left and right for his "outrageous" proposal saying it is draconian and eliminates union's rights.
What are the unions and teachers protesting? Paying for half of their retirement funds and up to 12.6% of their health insurance costs. This would save Wisconsin $30 million by this summer and $300 million over the next two years. Not bad, considering Wisconsin faces a $137 million budgetary shortfall by July 1.
The budget repair bill proposed by the Governor also limits the Unions for bargaining for outrageous pay and benefit increases. Most news outlets have termed this "anti union" and bad for the school system. But is it really?
The public sector unions mandate that all public sector employees pay a membership fee to the union, even if they don't want to. The Governor's proposal would eliminate that and require the unions be voted on annually to stay organized. If the teachers who are protesting represent the majority of the union and if they like it, then the union has nothing to fear from that. And who is against making a governing body more responsive and responsible to the members it represents? Isn't that more democratic?
It all boils down to a matter of fairness and responsibility. It isn't fair for the taxpayers who pay the salaries of the unions to foot the Union's ever expanding expenses and it isn't responsible for the unions and teachers to demand more money from a bankrupt state government.
Some people are going to be pissed. I don't think this is over yet
ReplyDeleteYou're right. And doesn't it prove the Governor's point, that the unions are too powerful?
ReplyDeleteI think you are doing a great job with this blog.
ReplyDeleteTeachers' unions draw away public funds that should be spent on the students. If less money were spent on union priorities, would class sizes be smaller? Would districts be able to keep arts programs running?
The Governor made the debt by giving tax cuts. Now the state cannot pay its workers.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama doesn't seem to get it either. He isn't defending spending cuts, he is protecting the people who are promoting the mess:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/17/AR2011021705494_Comments.html
This is just like what he did in Egypt! He is demonstrating a pattern of contempt for the law.
http://goodgoverning.blogspot.com/2011/02/obamas-egypt.html
He will support the protesters in Egypt and Wisconsin, but he will belittle and condemn the Tea Partiers.
This president has some serious issues.
So the debt came because of tax cuts? The whole 3.6 billion of it?
ReplyDeleteHow long has he been in there, anyway? One month and a couple of weeks, and he is responsible for the debt?
That's like bringing your car home to your dad after a date with almost no gas and blaming your dad for running out of gas.
Whose money is it anyway? Can you imagine what it would be like if the teachers' union started collecting the money for the teachers from the tax payers?
The governor has asked that the public-sector employees increase their contributions for their health care coverage and pensions to a level that is HALF of what private-sector employees are paying. This is very generous - especially since most private sector employees no longer have pensions.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a free market economy. The governor and the legislature set the conditions of employment (including pay and benefits) for state employees. If the state employees don't like the conditions, they can seek employment elsewhere.
We live-d in a free market economy. Great post!
ReplyDeleteWhy not raise taxes to pay for these debts?
ReplyDeleteThe problem is the amount of money being spent. Politicians, like gamblers, are never satisfied with how much money they make, they must spend (or gamble) away, more and more money. Would you give a gambler more money so he could pay his gambling debts?
ReplyDeleteNo but I would give to solve a problem.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that politicians spend like gamblers. How is giving them more money going to solve their problem of spending like drunken sailors?
ReplyDeleteSo, the problem then is how do you pay for schools, roads, police, fire dept, etc. without paying taxes? By cutting the budget and taxes you're leaving the rich richer and the poor poorer. This does nothing to help the majority of people. I think politicians should spend money on services for the public.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not exactly sure that I do completely agree with what is happening in Wisconsin. The biggest problem that I have is that when a problem with money comes up, it seems like the first target often (and IS in this case) becomes teachers. Already this is a group that is horribly under paid, under appreciated, and over worked. And yet these teachers have arguably one of the most vital jobs in the country.
ReplyDeleteAgain, no doubt the teaching field is fraught with problems of its own, and solving problems requires starting somewhere. But I just read an article about the executives of the bankrupt book company Borders receiving millions of dollars in bonuses using the argument that they need to stay competitive. Now my question then becomes, why doesn't that argument work for teachers?